Violating unwritten rules

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Here’s something that bugs the hell out of me in books:

Say you have a character who is an experienced bad-guy-fighter. Also say your character is facing bad guys who are desperate or ruthless. Here’s a new rule: Don’t tell me your protagonist is shocked because the villain has done something that “breaks an unwritten rule.” Don’t tell me they’re outraged at the crossing of a line that “everyone knows” shouldn’t be crossed.

It makes them sound sheltered and naive. It makes them sound stupid.

Suppose two characters are fighting in an alley. One thinks the fight should be a fair one, following the rules of a boxing match. The second goes straight for a crotch-kick.

When that first guy is lying on the ground, covering his exploded balls with his hands, should he be griping about the unfairness of ti all? Well, maybe, if you want him to come across as a fool.

Most people are decent, but there are always a few who will do any damn thing at all. They beat their aged parents and steal their money to buy beer. They kidnap little girls off the street and hold them prisoner for decades. They lynch. They rape. They burn your house down.

So if your character is going to be shocked shocked that their drug dealer shows up at their day job for their money, or that the secret vampire arch-duke will try to get at them by biting their delightfully-quirky grandmother, I’m going to think they’re… well, see my comment above about “sheltered and naive.”

There are ways to make that work, of course. If the drug dealer is harassing you at work because your son owes him a lot of money–something you didn’t know about–that might work. If two brothers get into a fight over a woman, and one brother tries to avoid permanent harm right up until the other pulls a knife, that would work, too.

But that’s the context. If you’re writing about a vigilante, a cop, or some kind of hired muscle, they should be expecting their enemies to cross lines and break rules, unwritten or otherwise.

Offered without comment

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Spectres of the Spectrum

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Over the weekend, my wife and I sat down to watch Spectres of the Spectrum, the agitprop collage film by Craig Baldwin from 10(?) years ago.

It’s an odd experience, as you would expect. The film is largely made up of old footage from cartoon, educational films, commercials, terrible 50’s science fiction movies, and any number of other obscure sources. Tying it all together is original footage shot on a microbudget and relentless, unending narration.

For what it’s worth, the story revolves around a father and daughter, both telepaths and both part of an underground resistance movement struggling against the electromagnetic control of the New Electromagnetic Order. Together, they mine old media looking for a hidden message left by their mother/grandmother telling them how to thwart NEO’s plan to electromagnetically erase the memory of everyone in the world.

But that’s just a frame to hang a long string of juxtapositions. The two leads, being telepaths, “beam” their thoughts at you directly through narration. And the narration is largely taken up with narration about the history of science and technology, with no distinction made between the legit stuff and pseudo-science.

It is, essentially, a conspiracy theorist’s rant, and it’s backed up with images from Grade Z sci-fi monsters and footage of awkward white men in lab coats or military uniforms that undercuts the sincerity of the narrators. It’s simultaneously a critique of modern society and a lampooning of rabid conspiracy theorists.

Part of the fun is sussing out how closely this world is supposed to resemble our own–the narrators are extraordinarily effective at being unreliable voices. Are they the only people able to resist NEO’s “electronic miasma”? Are they schizophrenics living deep in a made-up world, talking with imaginary co-conspirators (including one guy who lives in an orbiting satellite(!)? Or are they living in a separate but similar world, with nuclear zombies and Airstream trailers equipped for FTL space travel?

Did I mention that it’s funny, too?

I’m glad I watched this with my wife, because there was a point in the middle of the film where the urgent, goofball narration became oppressive. I wanted a break from it, because it was draining me the way an obsessive party guest who bends your ear on his favorite topic for an hour can be draining. But she was interested, so I stuck it out and I’m glad I did. The ending was startling and fun.

Check it out.

Approaching a stranger with your hand extended

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I haven’t wanted to say anything about Josh Olson’s often-linked rant about people asking him to read their scripts.

A lot of people have already dissected this from several angles and the only thing I could contribute to the conversation is that Josh Olson used to post in that sort of tone all the time back on the Wordplayer boards. (And the search engines at the site will only cough up one result when I search for Olson and fuck. Hah! I say. HAH!) That was his thing, and it wasn’t such a big deal in that context.

There’re also several posts on the topic by John Scalzi–this is an example of where he stands–and Lee Goldberg.

But what makes me think about this are the political activists outside the library.

See, every time I make my Wednesday trip to the library, there’s a pair (or more) of young, attractive activists soliciting signatures or whatever for lefty causes. And while I support lefty causes (generally) and have a ACLU card right here in my wallet, I don’t want to stop and talk to these people. I don’t have time on my lunch break, and at the end of the day I’m trying to reach a bus.

Most of the time, they’re fine with me shaking my head and looking away as I walk by. Or they’re not so put out that I know about it. But sometimes they go a little too far.

Not too long ago, a young woman stepped up to me as I walked by with her hand extended as though we should shake. As though a busy city sidewalk was a social situation where folks meet and greet.

I perceived that extended hand as an imposition, because I knew she was trying to use social cuing to make me stop what I was doing and deal with her thing. It annoyed me, and I nearly said “Don’t do that.”

And then yesterday, I had a guy walking to intercept me, with his hand extended like he wanted to shake. And since he was moving to block my path, it came across as aggressive.

“Not interested,” I said.

“In what?” he answered, knowing very well that I had no idea what cause he wanted to run by me.

“Talking,” I answered.

Did he think I was a dick? Hell, yeah. I saw it on his face and heard it in his voice. But what that guy didn’t understand is that he was intruding on me and my time. It’s like walking up to a stranger on the street and taking a bite out of the sandwich in their hand.

He should be asking me from a distance. He shouldn’t be moving to intercept me. He shouldn’t be offering his hand to me as though we’d just been introduced by a mutual friend. What he should do is ask me, as I approach “Do you have a minute to talk about the whales (or whatever).” That’s it.

And this is why I have tremendous sympathy for Olson, Scalzi and Lee Goldberg, no matter how I feel about the tone of their comments. Some people do not understand that they are not entitled to your time. They think they get to decide how important my schedule is. They think their needs are paramount.

It’s not that people shouldn’t ask for things. It’s that they don’t know how to do it correctly.

Crowd-sourcing my brain

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Most writers hold some sort of contest when their books come out, yes? As a promotional thing?

I feel a vague urge to do the same thing, but I’m not sure what I should do. I’m not planning to give away a tooth, like that horror writer from a couple years back.

So I’m asking you: What should I do, and what sort of prize should I offer? I have copies of Child of Fire sitting around now, and could offer them as prizes, but that sounds… presumptuous. (I know, I know. I’m the worst self-promoter ever. Don’t judge me.)

I have other books and stuff I could give away. Alternately, I could convince my wife to make a sketch to include with the book.

Another option is to give away copies of the book in exchange for reviews.

If I were going to be honest, though, I’d admit that I’m dubious about the value of this sort of thing, and time has been really, really tight lately. What do you think?

When the practical ought to be fashionable.

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Why is it that extremely practical things are so unfashionable? Why do so many people scoff at the fanny pack? Can someone explain it to me? Can someone explain why my wife doesn’t want me to go out like this???
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Randomness for 9/16

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I was planning to take a break from these for a couple days, but the universe has other plans.

1) The Philadelphia Free Library is closing for lack of funding. The city of my birth is about to join southern Oregon as a place I will never, ever live in.

2) On a lighter note, a haiku about the Sub-mariner, in comics form.

3) The Dan Brown sequel generator, which I can’t see at work. Is it funny?

4) Birth of a meme! “Whose responsible this!” via glvalentine

5) Dungeons and Dragons, the sodas! I’m going to be all over Digby’s Crushing Thirst Destroyer.

How can we afford health care reform?

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People often say we can’t afford to reform our health care system. Let me throw out a data point, courtesy of the new intranet site at work that lets employees look up our own benefit info.

My health insurance, which covers three people in our family, costs approximately $20,000 a year.

That’s over 1600 a month. Now, that’s not all “employee contribution.” That’s my contribution and my employer’s added together, and that’s how it should be calculated–those fees are part of my compensation, even though they’re going into Great West’s pocket, and not mine.

Of course that doesn’t include my deductibles, my co-pays, or the things my insurance doesn’t cover. When the pediatric triage nurse told me to take my son to the ER, I went, even though our health insurance “discourages” that by making us pay way more for that sort of care. (That particular day was over $300–what the heck, the kid is worth it.)

That figure doesn’t include dental, by the way. It also doesn’t include vision. You know what else it isn’t? It isn’t the “buy-up” plan at work. I’m not getting the gold-plated coverage; I’m getting the lowest level of basic care they offer.

Twenty grand a year, just for insurance. We’re already paying a fortune.

America can do better.

Two weeks and counting

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Eeep!

Followup to yesterday’s post

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Evidence is increasing that obesity is not simply a matter of self-indulgence and self-control. While I’ve seen articles here and there about chemical influences on weight and diabetes, this is the first article I’ve come across that ties several research threads together.

Obviously, this all comes with the caveat that it’s science reporting, which is likely to be wildly inaccurate in the details and the implications. However! If the research is solid, it could go a long way to understanding the health implications of the chemicals we use everyday, not to mention the difficulties people have with their weight.

And while I’d heard of the problems associated with DDT and other pesticides, this is the first time I’d heard of preliminary results linking childhood obesity to soy.

It’s interesting stuff, and it really challenges the typical moralizing about food and weight in this culture. Also interesting is that that article linking obesity to chemicals hasn’t attracted the trolls the way the article about the link between obesity and genetics has.

On a personal level, I took my son to the pool yesterday for his “swim lesson” (really just an excuse to get out and move around). Generally, I don’t like swimming–I dislike being submerged in something I can’t breathe, and my son really hates it–but it was great to spend an hour playing without a full day’s worth of knee and ankle pain.